| Recent Address: | HC66, Box 290A, Auto, WV 24719 |
| Family Info: | Parents: Russell and Lucy; Wife: Anna |
| Hometown: | Green Bank, WV |
| Date Entered Service: | November, 1940 |
| Service Number: | AF15014719 |
| Bomb Group: | 444th |
| Squadron: | 677th |
| Location of Unit: | Great Bend, KS (1943) |
| Missions Flown: | 34 |
| Hump Missions: | Many |
| Targets: | Singapore, Mukden, Saigon, Yawata, Hikari, Osaka, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, others |
| Awards: | Distinguished Flying Cross,Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters,Distinguished Unit Citation,National Defense Service Medal,Good Conduct Medal,AFLSAR with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters,AFLSA with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters,WWII Victory Medal,Western Pacific Campaign,American Defense Medal with 1 Bronze Star,American Theater Ribbon,Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon with 5 Bronze Stars,Good Conduct Medal with 5 Bronze lapel pins |
| Service Schools: | Airplane Mechanic 1941; Radio Operator 1942 |
| MOS: | MOS 2756-Airborne Radio Operator Mechanic |
| Rank Upon Discharge: | Senior Master Sergeant |
| Crew Type: | Flight crew |
| Airplane Serial No.& Name: | 42-65273 Big! Ain't It |
| Date Transferred from the 58th: | September, 1945 |
| Date Discharged: | 1945 |
| Post WWII Service: | Re-enlisted in 1947. Retired in 1963. Served in U.S. Pentagon. With AFCS and TAC. COM. served in Panama, Galapagos, CBI, Tinian during war. Post war: England, Germany, Libya, Morocco, Alaska, Iceland, Okinawa, Andrews AFB, Pentagon, Grand Forks and other bases in the United States. |
| Post WWII Civilian Occupation(s): | Worked for Department of Defense at East Coast Telecomm as communication technician in Frederick, MD from 1963 to 1975, then retired. |
| Thoughts About the 58th: | Serving with and being a part of the 58th Bomb Wing from its conception through to the end of World War II was the highlight of my USAF career. Matured from boy to man. Tom Brokaw said it best, “The Greatest Generation.” |
| Comments: | I did not keep a diary during WWII, therefore, I have forgotten the name of many of the targets. I was on the last and final mission of the war and it was #34. Four members of my crew: Pilot, Captain Harold Lane; Co-Pilot, First Lieutenant James Riffle; Engineer, S/Sgt Azel Hall and myself the Radio Operator spent approximately two months ferrying gas in C-109's. I have no idea how many hump trips I made. Enclosed is a shot of our crew. Two members, Radar H.K. Long and Bombardier Doug Salkin had been killed. Mr. Crowley passed away October 11, 2010. |
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58th Bomb Wing Veterans Index |  |
